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Hey all,

Long time lurker. I'm a 1L and I just got two of my grades back and I am not sure what to do: B, B-. Currently I'm at a gpa of 2.85 where the median is around 3.0. I attend a T2 with a VERY small scholarship (practically negligible). I know this was a foolish mistake and I wish I could take it back but I just have to look forward to whats next. I did LEEWS and read GTM. I did practice exams and studied considerable amounts of time (the typical 12-16 hr days during finals). My outlines were done before thanksgiving and I even spoke with my professors regarding what they expected on exams. The bottom line is starting to become clear to me...I am not cut out for this.

I am seeking advice on what to do. I wanted to work for the state in prosecution but with these grades I realize that its highly unlikely. Considering that I am practically paying sticker, maybe I should just recognize a bad investment and cut my losses now? I know I still have 2 grades to be released, but I realize that it is highly unlikely they are going to differ. I am very defeated and I think leaving law school in this way would potentially leave me depressed, but I don't want to shell out another semester of tuition on an emotional basis.

tl;dr: Wtf do I do now?

**UPDATE**

Since you guys were so helpful I wanted to give an update on my situation. I received a 25% scholarship for the remaining 2 years through a writing contest for alumni and I was offered a paid clerkship with the US dept of energy over summer that extends into 2L. I have been on top of my studying and will update this thread at the end of the semester.

Thanks again for all of the advice.

whatsnext1 wrote:Hey all,

I am seeking advice on what to do. I wanted to work for the state in prosecution but with these grades I realize that its highly unlikely.

I don't know anything about the hiring practices of DA offices in your state, but are you sure that grades matter a lot for the positions you're interested in? You're not gunning to be an AUSA. Where I'm from, the way to get those prosecutor office jobs is to (1) intern at a DAs office both summers (and extern there during the school year if feasible), (2) work hard and write well, and (3) hope that your state/locality has funding to hire new attorneys.

Before you pull the plug on your chosen career, I'd make sure that your mediocre grades (assuming they do stay mediocre) are actually going to make a big difference for you.

Wait for your next two grades before you do anything. I had a similar experience last year. First two grades were Bs, and then BAM! I got two As. Just be patient before you do anything drastic.

Beyond that, I have no good advice. Are you at a private or public T2? If public, is that resident or non-resident sticker?

ineptimusprime wrote:Wait for your next two grades before you do anything. I had a similar experience last year. First two grades were Bs, and then BAM! I got two As. Just be patient before you do anything drastic.

Beyond that, I have no good advice. Are you at a private or public T2? If public, is that resident or non-resident sticker?

Not public its private. It's got decent job numbers but I mean decent for a T2.

I'll check on the grades thing in terms of DA. Either way thanks for the advice, this forum has helped me a lot.

I interned at a DAs office and they are far less concerned with grades than private firms. Dignan was spot on - don't drop out yet. I would start trying to find out if there are any ADAs from your school that would be willing to talk to you. It's all about who you know! Also, go talk to your professors, they might have some good insight on what you should do.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Here is what you do:

Keep up the good work.
Get back to work.
Graduate and pass the Bar.
Hustle and find work.
Move on in life.


Never return to TLS.


You will only come here to feed your sorrow and look for validation to quit.
Plenty of that on this website.

Or.....you can spend that same energy and find countless valid reasons to stay in school.

It is as if you have 2 raging wolves in your mind... One says QUIT... the other says STAY AND WORK HARD.

Which one will win?......










The one you feed.

.

Not to detract from OP, but we should save these posts to show the flood of students applying.

2807 wrote:Here is what you do:

Keep up the good work.
Get back to work.
Graduate and pass the Bar.
Hustle and find work.
Move on in life.


Never return to TLS.


You will only come here to feed your sorrow and look for validation to quit.
Plenty of that on this website.

Or.....you can spend that same energy and find countless valid reasons to stay in school.

It is as if you have 2 raging wolves in your mind... One says QUIT... the other says STAY AND WORK HARD.

Which one will win?......

The one you feed.

What sort of Tony Robbins psychobabble horseshit is this?

bjsesq wrote:

2807 wrote:Here is what you do:

Keep up the good work.
Get back to work.
Graduate and pass the Bar.
Hustle and find work.
Move on in life.


Never return to TLS.


You will only come here to feed your sorrow and look for validation to quit.
Plenty of that on this website.

Or.....you can spend that same energy and find countless valid reasons to stay in school.

It is as if you have 2 raging wolves in your mind... One says QUIT... the other says STAY AND WORK HARD.

Which one will win?......

The one you feed.

What sort of Tony Robbins psychobabble horseshit is this?

Haha

conclusion.

Black Hat wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

Black Hat wrote:Question - How do two B's equal 2.85? I was under the impression that a B was a 3.0.

Anyway, it could be worse, you could have C's or D's even!

It doesn't seem that those grades would put you out of the running to be a prosecutor. Being that these jobs usually receive low pay, it follows that there won't be a lot of competition GPA wise.

1) It's a B and a B-.

2) I don't think the low pay = low GPA competition thing works the way you think it does.

1) Okay so what does a B- equate to? Assuming a B is a 3.0. Also, what would that make a C+? Weird ...

2) By the way, I just read another post of yours where you said something to the effect of "most PD's I know didn't even provide a transcript when they got their jobs."

This means, to me, grades don't matter for these low paying state jobs. Meaning the jobs aren't difficult to get is a fair conclusion.

B = 3.0
B- = 2.667
C+ = 2.333

At many places at least...

And regarding PD/DA jobs, they're highly competitive (not big law but not easy) so it may be easier to get an interview (or not, because many places don't hire until you pass the bar) but when they do interview they're looking for other things (dedication) not grades, but from what i understand, since 2009ish, some places are looking to grades more so because they're getting more and more applications because everyone assumes these are the jobs you go to if you don't land big law, and that's simply not the case. These jobs can't be a backup because they're looking for dedication and have more than enough dedicated candidates for the job therefore, I would say they ARE difficult to get.

But that's just my view of the market I want to enter..

5.

.

Black Hat wrote:Okay, I'll accept that.

But the "holistic view approach" is certainly more forgiving than the normal "grades matter" approach.

There is no way to BS your way out of a 2.5.

See, I don't agree, because there's also no way to magically manufacture demonstrated experience/commitment to the job if you don't actually have it.

[quote="A. Nony Mouse"][quote="Black Hat"]Okay, I'll accept that.

Below median at a T2 paying near sticker? Ain't much of a question. There are other ways to serve the public that don't require bar license, my friend.

Stay only if your other two grades are As. Otherwise drop out. If you really want to work in the criminal justice system, go back to your home state, enroll in some sort of criminal justice programs, and find a job as an investigator or probation officer. One, it's shocking how incredibly cheap some criminal justice programs are at state schools. Two, DA positions are hard to get. At least for big law, you know you will get a SA if your grades are good. For DA positions, you won't know for sure.

UnderrateOverachieve wrote:Not to detract from OP, but we should save these posts to show the flood of students applying.

exactly, I've been accepted to 9 law schools already.

And I am wondering : are straight B's at a TT law school considered bad? dropping out bad?

Lwoods1020 wrote:

UnderrateOverachieve wrote:Not to detract from OP, but we should save these posts to show the flood of students applying.

exactly, I've been accepted to 9 law schools already.

And I am wondering : are straight B's at a TT law school considered bad? dropping out bad?

Yes. There are some exceptions depending on what you want to do but yes. It's below median a lot of places where less than 50% are getting jobs. It's not a good spot to be in

[quote="Lwoods1020

LOL at TLSers not even knowing what a B- is on a 4.0 scale. Never needed to look at the GPA scale below 3.0?

[quote="shifty_eyed"]

shifty_eyed wrote:LOL at TLSers not even knowing what a B- is on a 4.0 scale. Never needed to look at the GPA scale below 3.0?

I know I haven't. I would guess 2.67 since a B+ is a 3.34 at my school.

kay2016 wrote:

Lwoods1020 wrote:

UnderrateOverachieve wrote:Not to detract from OP, but we should save these posts to show the flood of students applying.

exactly, I've been accepted to 9 law schools already.

And I am wondering : are straight B's at a TT law school considered bad? dropping out bad?

Yes. There are some exceptions depending on what you want to do but yes. It's below median a lot of places where less than 50% are getting jobs. It's not a good spot to be in

I am going to work as hard as I can. Are grades above the median imperative for government jobs or like divorce law? just wondering